The Good and The Bad (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: insurance, crime, high school)

[WyattE]

I am possibly thinking of moving to Pennsylvania and I'm not sure which location would best suit me and my family. PA is a big state but I'm possibly thinking of areas in Western PA, Central PA but nothing near Eastern PA. So I'm wondering what are the Good and the Bad points of PA? What would you list as good things about PA and what would be bad things about PA? Any comments are appreciated.

[Marodi]

What are you looking for? Urban, Suburban, rural, middle-of-nowhere?

[WyattE]

Nice town with shopping and malls but that small town feeling.

[teachbeach]

Major good points, in most parts, if you stay out of larger cities:

Reasonable housing and cost of living
Low auto insurance rates
Access to Washington DC, Baltimore, NYC
Major airports close to most suburban areas.
Good school systems
Decent medical care or referrals to Hershey, Philadelphia, John Hopkins or Pittsburgh specialties
Four seasons of weather, with all sports in all seasons very accessible (skiing, swimming, boating, biking, hiking).
Great selection and variety of college, universities, trade and training programs for post high school education.
Hard work ethic, solid family values, loads of religious backgrounds.


The bad:
roads could use some work, PennDot occasionally misses a beat with maintenance or repairs.
Some micromanaged municipalities-might be better off regionalizing or combining some for cost savings and expanding services.
Some of the attitudes of "it's always been done this way", provincial thinking and insular mindsets. Reluctant to change, be changed or think outside the box.

[pinetar10]

Originally Posted by WyattE

Nice town with shopping and malls but that small town feeling.

here's a few areas in western/central pa that would fit:
Chambersburg (though I would not live in a 2 block radius of the main street)
Indiana (do not live by IUP campus though)
Dubois
Grove City
Brookville (though not much shopping there, you would have to go to Dubois)
Bedford (no mall though)
Boiling Springs

[Dawne]

Bellefonte is a nice small town in central PA. It's close to State College, which has a mall and lots of other stores, plus Penn State.

Montoursville is nice, and near a mall and other shopping. Selinsgrove and Lewisburg are also nice, and near a mall and other shopping. These three have populations of around 6,000 and good schools also.

[cremebrulee]

Me, I've lived in PA all my life, but knowing what I know, about PA...I love the wide open spaces and forests of PA, which can be found way up in the Wellsboro area...Potter County or Western PA. I, years ago, almost bought a farm up there which was completely reverbished by an excentric...it was an awesome 60 acre farm on the side of a mountain, bordered on the south side by The Allegheny River. So, I would definately suggest those areas if you enjoy nature and living a quiet life of solitude, away from the hustle and bustle of gridlock and love those ol fashioned stores with the ol wood planked floors.

I remember while up there, in the Coudersport area, that the biggest crime was fining people for letting their keys in their cars, while they shopped in that ol step back in time area. It was marvelous....but certainly, by now, has probably changed...

What ever you decide, I firmly suggest taking two weeks off, and you and your family come in and tour the areas after researching information.

Good luck